Just one year ago, Liverpool finished 28 points behind Premier League winners Manchester United, but Brendan Rodgers has quickly worked miracles on his squad and not only has them playing attractive, fluid football, but also has them in pole position for the title.

David Anderson takes a look at how Rodgers has managed to turn Liverpool into title favourites...

1. Playing a passing game

Rodgers has always believed in possession football. He imprinted this on Liverpool from day one and it caused problems initially with defenders being caught in possession or giving the ball away when they were used to clearing their lines. But now every player has bought into Rodgers' mantra of always passing to a Red shirt. This means they invariably enjoy the majority of possession in games, even at places like Old Trafford.

2. Buying Daniel Sturridge

Rodgers had a lucky escape with he missed out on Clint Dempsey in August 2012 because the club were able to buy him Sturridge in the following window. The England striker has been a revelation, averaging nearly a goal-a-game at one point in the season, to take some of the goal-scoring burden off Luis Suarez.

3. Buying Philippe Coutinho

Signing Coutinho from Inter Milan for a measly £8million has got to be one of the best deals of recent times. The little Brazilian brings that creative spark to Liverpool's midfield.

4. His handling of Luis Suarez

Rodgers supported Suarez when he bit Branislav Ivanovic and then was resolute when the Uruguayan tried to force through a move to Arsenal in the summer. Unlike former Aston Villa boss John Gregory who famously said he wanted "to shoot" Dwight Yorke when he told him he wanted to join Manchester United in 1998, he did not burn his bridges with Suarez so that a rapprochement could be made when he did not go. He has been repaid handsomely by the Uruguayan this term.

(Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

5. His use of tactics

Sometimes the former Swansea boss gets it wrong - like he did at home to Southampton and away to Arsenal in the league - but usually he knows exactly how to set up his team to get the best out of his players and to negate the opposition. He did this expertly against Manchester United, deploying Joe Allen instead of Coutinho beside Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard, to ensure Liverpool dominated possession. He believes in 4-3-3 and he has found the perfect balance at Liverpool this way.

6. Improving Jordan Henderson

Henderson's days at Anfield looked numbered when Rodgers took over in May 2012 and spent the first half of the season mainly on the bench. He listened to Rodgers' advice on how he could get better and he has been a revelation this season.

7. Making Raheem Sterling deliver consistently

Sterling looked like he had lost his way at the start of the season, but Rodgers got him to knuckle down and he stars for Liverpool on a regular basis.

9. Getting rid of the dead wood

Rodgers made a huge call when he took over, sanctioning record £35million signing Andy Carroll's departure. Other managers might have shied away from such a high-profile move, but he knew he did not fit in with his style of play. Disappointing big earners like Stewart Downing have also gone.

10. Making Anfield a fortress again

Liverpool's home record had really slipped before Rodgers arrived and teams like Fulham, West Brom and Wigan were turning up and winning. This season the Reds have won 15, drawn one and lost just one at Anfield in the league.

11. By scoring more goals than anyone else

Rodgers sets up his team to score goals, first and foremost. Not to be hard to beat, or mean defensively, but to score goals. This is evident this season with their tally of 76, which is more than even Manchester City.

12. Not being in Europe

Jose Mourinho joked that Liverpool are doing so well because of their "holiday" from Europe and he is right. Rodgers loves coaching and he has made full use of having a full week to prepare for most games.

13. Making players better

Again it sounds obvious, but Rodgers prides himself on improving his players. Look at Jon Flanagan's development, Sterling's progress, Henderson's coming of age. Even Gerrard is a better player under Rodgers.

Young talent: Rodgers has made an effort with his young guns (Photo: John Powell)

14. Ditching Pepe Reina and signing Simon Mignolet

Again another big call by Rodgers, but he knew the popular Reina had to go because of his increasing number of errors. Mignolet had a wobble around Christmas and the New Year, but has been impressive. Liverpool have looked better at the back, although defence remains their one weak spot.

15. Believing in his players

Rodgers has given his players the confidence to go out and play because they know he believes in them. This was important early on when the results were not forthcoming and now they believe they can win anywhere.

16. Getting at teams early

Liverpool have been fast starters this season and have blown teams like Arsenal and Everton away in the opening periods of games.

17. Working hard on the training ground

Anything any team does stems from what they do on the training pitch and Rodgers is an excellent coach, who prides himself on properly preparing his sides for every game down to the last detail.